Anyways I'm Still Free
by Katsuko1978
Summary: One chance meeting after a spectacularly bad cycle leads to something neither one of them realized they were missing. Prequel to "Freedom Ain't Free." Planned at three chapters and a possible epilogue.
1. Take Me Out To The Black

**Disclaimers:** Transformers © Hasbro  
**Warnings:** AU and I'm playing with my 'crack' pairing again. WTFrag?  
**Notes:** Bwah? The hell is this? I should be writing so many other fics, and what comes to me? A fraggin' prequel story to "Freedom Ain't Free." Like the world needs more Rumble/femme!Starscream or something. Oy. What the hell is wrong with me?!

Oh, and as an added note (and a sort of reply to a comment on that particular fic), I'm basically using the 'scale what scale' thing that comes with G1. In other words, the non-animalistic Cassetticons (and Cassettebots, for that matter) are about the same height as the other minibots (Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and so on) and come to about waist-height on the average Cybertronian. And Starscream is an average Cybertronian. Ah, G1 scale-issues, you are much crack. Because a semi is soooo equal in scale to an F-15 Eagle and a fragging _handgun_.

* * *

Starscream was having the worse cycle ever.

No, scratch that. She'd lost her best friend and research partner while on a scouting excursion for the Science Council, had been accused of murdering him upon returning without him, had her titles and achievements summarily stripped from her, _and_ been deleted from the Council's databases entirely. 'Worst cycle' didn't even begin to describe it.

Worst fragging _vorn_, however, sounded just about right.

With that cheerful thought in her processor, the seeker femme snarled out a curse and knocked back another cube of high-grade. This was either her six or her sixteenth; she had lost count ages ago. All she knew was that she could still see the triumphant expressions on the Council leaders' faceplates as they'd stripped her of every achievement she had ever made while working under them, and she didn't plan to stop drinking until either the image was a fuzzy memory or she passed out.

Win/win.

Fully intending to get another cube, the white and red femme started to stand up, only to lose her balance and trip. Starscream honestly expected to hit the floor, and when instead she found herself being supported by a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and her optics locked on a pair of blue-violet pedes she lifted her helm in confusion.

"Steady there, sweetspark," the mech – apparently one of those from the minibot frameset, unless Starscream had halfway-succeeded in her quest to drink herself stupid – said, a thread of curiosity and mild amusement in his tone. "It's usually easier to walk if you watch where you're placing your pedes."

"Frag off," Starscream retorted, managing to get her legs back under her and shoving at the mini's arms. He loosened his grip but didn't back away until the seeker was standing upright once again. "No one asked you for help," she added in a low grumble after a second.

The mini grinned at the words, optic visor glinting in amusement. "Maybe not, but my creators would offline me if I didn't aid a lady in distress whether she realizes she needs an assist or not," he retorted.

The femme snorted and turned to resume her trip to the bar. She managed to get a whole five steps before her legs decided to take a break once more and Starscream found herself flat on her back staring up at the ceiling. She had just long enough to cycle her optics and wonder what in the pit she'd done to make Primus hate her so badly when the mini leaned into view.

"That doesn't look comfortable," the mech said, and this time the concern in his voice was a bit less hidden. "How much have you had?"

"Well, I'm still online," Starscream replied, absently wondering why she was replying and chalking it up to the fact that he had actually _asked_, "and my vorn isn't getting any better, so not nearly enough."

"And on that happy note, I declare that you are a melancholy drunk and that it's time you were cut off." The mini shifted out of her frame of view only to move to her side and begin to pull her into a seated position. The seeker protested the motion – the floor was comfy, slaggit! – but attempted to climb back to her feet once the room stopped spinning.

A small part of the femme wanted to shove this pushy little groundpounder away from her again, but another slightly louder part just wanted someone to care, even if they were pretending, for a little while. Her brothers were still in Vos and hadn't been able to come into Iacon upon her return, and Starscream had only taken a micron to send word that she had been kicked out of the Science Council before finding the nearest bar. She hadn't even told them where to find her because she had nowhere to go; she'd been staying with Skyfire whenever they were planet-side, and if she went near his apartments now chances were good that she would be arrested for trespassing.

"Thanks," Starscream muttered to the mini as he steadied her, hands at her waist and respectfully not dropping to hips or aft like most mechs would have attempted in this situation.

"No problem," he replied, shifting only to wrap one arm around her waist and coaxing her to drop one hand on his shoulder. "You must've had a rough one to be like this so early in the evening cycle. I'll help you get to wherever you're staying."

"Good luck with that," the seeker snorted, a self-defacing giggle slipping past her dermaplates. "Just drop me in the nearest alley, I'll find somewhere to recharge from there."

The minibot turned to face her, his expression hard. "Sorry, no can do, dollface. If you got nowhere else to stay, I got a guestroom you can crash in until morning. Ah ah, no arguing!" he added when she scrunched up her face in protest. "Like I said before, my creators wouldn't be happy with me at all if they ever found out I left a lady in distress. And trust me, they _would_ find out."

Starscream bit back a retort of her own and just gave in. She was too exhausted and too slagging drunk to deal with an argument right now anyway. "Fine," she acquiesced, letting the mech guide her towards the door. She waited a moment before adding a much quieter, "Thanks."

"Told you it's not a problem," he said. "I guess I should ask what your name is, if you're gonna be crashing at my place."

Logic dictated that she should request – or even demand – that he tell her who he was first. But, once again, she was beyond giving half a frag about anything at the moment, and so responded without any hesitation: "Starscream."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rumble. Now let's get you out of the streets and into a berth so you can sleep this off."

_to be continued_


	2. Take Me Where I Cannot Stand

**Notes:** Yep, this is gonna be at _least_ three parts. I get the feeling it'll be four - the actual hook-up in the next part and p-n-p smut for the last part.

You're welcome.

* * *

Even though a quarter-vorn had passed since the last time he'd seen her – still not entirely pleased with the world in general but content enough to allow her elder brothers to take her back to Vos – but Rumble recognized the white and red seeker the instant she walked through the door.

The minibot felt a curious mental nudge from his twin and responded with a ping basically saying _I'll tell you later_. His entire family unit – creators and co-creations both – had been persecuted on several levels over the past few vorns, and Shockwave had finally declared that he'd had enough. When he told his mate and creations that he planned to join the resistance movement, an action that would guarantee his final fall from the Science Council's graces, Soundwave had not only supported the decision but stated he would do likewise. The telepath had been shunned many times over for his talents, and putting them to use could only serve to benefit the movement.

As non-mechanoid builds, Ravage and the younger twins dealt with being treated as if they were no more than drones, while the elder twins had to deal with the usual prejudices held towards minibots. Not a one of them hesitated to follow in their creators' steps and joined the resistance as well.

So, in all honesty, Rumble shouldn't have felt a moment of shock seeing Starscream and her brothers – what were their names again? Thunder and Sky, something like that – given the way seekers were generally treated by the main population. Yet there it was anyway, a sudden jolt in his spark as the femme strode in with a confidence she'd been lacking at their first meeting and stopping next to Megatron as if she belonged there.

Megatron gave a brief nod as the siblings took up position in a full-trine pattern by the war lord before he spoke. "As you all know by now, the senate and their representatives have been raising the intensity of their actions against the lower castes of Cybertron," he stated coolly. "The fires are still raging in Kaon, and the chance of finding anymore survivors is minimal at best. All cities hailing a significant population of military-builds are at risk, and some cities affiliated with those may also be targeted." He paused and nodded towards the trine at his side. "Starscream has been appointed as my air commander, should the need for aerial superiority arise, and her brothers Skywarp and Thundercracker round out the primary trine."

"With all due respect, sir," a seeker sporting a slightly different build than the primary trine called out from somewhere on Rumble's right – he thought the mech's name was Ramjet or something similar – "but up until now Vos has remained safely secluded from Cyberton-proper. We only deal with Praxus as a rule."

Starscream replied, her voice void of any inflection: "That was before the senate declared war on Vos. Their armies stormed the city under cover of darkness and razed it to the ground."

"Those of us who got out headed here," the blue seeker – Thundercracker – continued. "There aren't many of us, only ten trines, but more than the senate will be pleased about considering their apparent targets of the attack."

"Query: please explain final statement," Soundwave requested, only a split astrosecond before Rumble could voice the question himself.

Skywarp scowled. "All but five femmes out of the entire seeker nation were killed in the attack. One of those is still a sparkling, and one of those was already here in Tarn."

A harsh gasp was the only sound in the heavy silence that followed, coming from the sole femme in the now-secondary trine. Dirge then turned and buried her face against Astrotrain's chest-plating, the triple changer wrapping his arms securely around his bondmate. Ramjet and Thrust shifted minutely closer to their trine-sibling in a show of comfort and support.

"You said that affiliate cities are also at risk," a mech of Praxian build stated, a frown marring his features. "How long do you think Praxus has?"

"We overheard them discussing the attack as we fled," Starscream reported, the slightest hint of something akin to anger beginning to build in her voice. "The attack is slated for tonight. They intend to leave no survivors... and pin the blame on Vos and her seekers."

This statement caused the room to explode into sound, mechs and femmes all arguing at once. Some were proclaiming that there was no way the public would believe that the seekers would attack Praxus, while still others argued that the citizens of Praxus should be warned. The Praxian who had spoken was frowning, ice-blue optics furious as he moved a few steps closer to the primary trine.

Rumble inexplicably found himself taking a few steps as well, subtly slipping himself between the Praxian and Starscream.

"Is there no way to warn the city council in advance?" the Praxian asked, directing the question to the femme.

"We tried," Skywarp answered in his sister's stead, curious garnet optics drifting to the minibot for a moment. "All lines of communication into the city are blocked. They won't know what hit them, and the mechs working under the Prime will believe whatever the senate tells them regarding the attack."

"No blame lies on Sentinel Prime in this matter," Megatron added. "He only knows what the council tells him, and his views strongly mirror our own. I honestly won't be surprised if someone from the senate has him assassinated and charges us with the crime."

"Then perhaps we should give the senate exactly what they _don't_ want out of the Praxus attack," the Praxian-build mused, looking thoughtful.

"What would that be?" Shockwave asked politely from Megatron's opposite side.

Cool blue optics glinted with amusement. "A survivor."

Megatron turned his own gaze to the Praxian, one optic ridge raised slightly. "And how would you suggest we go about doing that? And _why?_"

"The senate is expecting to kill every mech and femme within the city, likely for the same reasons they attempted to wipe out the Vosian femmes," the young mech noted. "When – not if – Prime sends in a team searching for survivors, it will be shortly after the attack. A survivor, even one with amnesia and a phobia regarding the attackers on his city, will provide Prime's unit something to rally around. And the senate wouldn't be foolish enough to go after someone they... missed when he's surrounded by trained soldiers."

Starscream nodded thoughtfully. "The only problem is we'll have to have you and our fastest flyer close by during the raid in order to get you in and get himself away."

"Fastest flyer nothing, sparklet," Skywarp cut in. "You might be faster on the wing, but I can 'port in and out much faster."

"You've explained _how_, now tell me why," the silver mech ordered.

"You've said yourself that the chances are good that Sentinel Prime will be assassinated," the Praxian said. "Which means this is the best – and possibly only – chance we may ever have to slip a spy into any of their armies."

Megatron smiled slightly and gave a sharp nod. "As soon as night falls, you and Skywarp depart immediately for Praxus. Inform Soundwave when you've reached the city and kill all communication channels save for the encoded one that he gives you."

"As you command, sir," the young mech replied with a brief bow.

"Remain here. As there is no further business to discuss at this time, the rest of you are dismissed."

The room emptied out quickly, every mech and femme returning to their previous tasks. The only ones left behind were Rumble and his family, the air commander and her brothers, Megatron, and the Praxian mech.

"You realize this is a dangerous operation you are undertaking," the commander said evenly, optics locked on the younger mech's faceplate.

"I do," he replied. "I owe it to those who won't be prepared for the attack, to be in a position to avenge them and bring down the senate from the inside. Or, at the very least, supply information and misinformation where it's needed."

"Once you're inside, it could be vorns before we can recover you," Shockwave pointed out.

"I'm aware of that. I'm still willing to take the chance."

"Observation: decision final," Soundwave noted. "Bluestreak: will continue course of action whether approval is granted or not at this point."

"Amnesia and a seeker phobia?" Thundercracker asked, sounding oddly amused.

"You would be amazed at how easily I can start babbling," the Praxian, now identified as Bluestreak, replied dryly. "And for how long I can go on about nothing. This will be sparkling's play."

"Well then," Starscream remarked, "I suppose the only thing left to say is safe journey and may smooth roads rise to meet you, clan-brother."

Bluestreak grinned and replied, "Clear skies and may fair winds carry you on the wing, clan-sister."

Rumble wasn't sure what that the words meant, but he did understand the odd lurch in his spark when Starscream smiled at the Praxian's words. He sent a brief nudge to his carrier-creator – _I need to speak to you about something when we're done here_ – and slid a few steps closer to his brothers.

It may have been a quarter-vorn since he'd last set optics on Starscream, but apparently that phrase about absence making the spark grow fonder was well-founded. What other reason than fledgling affection towards the seeker could there be for her momentary contentment making _him_ happy as well?

_to be continued_

* * *

**End Note:** So... show of hands, who wants a p-n-p smut epilogue for these two?


End file.
